Aeration is often used to help promote healthy and beautiful turf (e.g., for a residential lawn, a sports field, golf course greens and fairways, etc.). Turf aeration typically includes the removal of small plugs, or cores, of soil from the turf. Such core removal generally helps reduce soil compaction and improves the ability of grass roots to expand into the soil. Core aeration also helps strengthen roots and enhances fertilizer and water uptake and use.
Immediately following core aeration, soil plugs typically remain on the surface of the turf. Such plugs might remain on the turf for weeks if left to decompose naturally. During such period the plugs might interfere with use of the turf and likely would appear unsightly (e.g., on a golf green or tee). To avoid these and other problems, the soil cores generally are removed from the surface of the turf. While such removal might be accomplished by hand (e.g., with a rake), facilities with large turf areas (e.g., golf courses) generally use an apparatus called a “core harvester” to pick up soil plugs.
While there are various different models or types of core harvesters available, such systems generally function as an implement removably added to a maintenance truck, cart, or other similar vehicle with an open rear box or other soil plug storage compartment. The maintenance truck moves the operating core harvester assembly about the aerated turf so that plugs are removed from the turf surface as desired. Such core harvester systems generally include an assembly for collecting plugs on a turf surface and for providing the plugs to an elevator assembly. The elevator assembly generally moves the plugs from a first position proximate the turf surface to a raised second position at the input of a conveyor assembly. The conveyor assembly transfers the plugs to the soil plug storage compartment of the maintenance truck. There, the plugs are held for later disposal as desired, e.g., at a particular desired location for fill.
Core harvesters tend to be large implements. Such systems typically include hydraulics to power the elevator and conveyor, one or more wheels to help support the weight of the core harvester, a strong and durable frame made of steel, etc. As a result, core harvesters are large, heavy, and unwieldly—particularly when being placed on or removed from a maintenance truck. Often, the process of removing a core harvester from a maintenance truck for storage takes multiple individuals a number of hours to complete. And, the failure to remove a core harvester from a maintenance truck typically means that the truck would not be available for other uses for an extended period of time due to the presence of the core harvester.